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the rider to maintain his lead. Then when
the time came Greg dropped him like a
stone, riding in alone to beat the best road
racers in the world. Goal #3 had been met,
and Greg was just 22.
The Tour de France
Riding the Tour de France at just 24 years
of age, Greg’s final goal was within his reach.
But it was not to be; here’s the story. Greg
was supporting the team leader, Hinault.
Even working as a ‘domestique’, Greg had
managed to place himself second in G.C.
(General Classification). During the finish of
one stage late in the race, Hinault had suf-
fered a horrible crash. Suffering badly with
a swollen face on the next day, in the moun-
tains Hinault was dropped. In an attack.
Greg covered the break defensively. Sitting
on the wheel of the attacker, Greg had
opened a gap over Hinault sufficient to make
Greg ‘leader on the road’. Greg was feeling
great and wanted to attack. He had the yel-
low jersey in his grasp. But the team’s man-
ager would not let Greg attack.
The next year Greg won the ‘85 Tour. This
victory was an emotional event, with more
trouble from his own team mate, Hinault,
than the rest of the field. Still, Greg had met
the goal set back in high school
A small setback for Greg
During the winter of 1986, Greg was shot
in a hunting accident that nearly took his
young life. Carrying 40 shotgun pellets in his
chest, after a lengthy recovery he went on
to race again.
The comeback
Surely one of the greatest moments in sport
was the final time trial of the 1989 Tour de
France. Facing what was considered an insur-
mountable lead by French racer Fignon, Greg
rode the fastest time trial in Tour history. In
doing so, he beat Fignon and won the Tour
by just 8 seconds. His victory was the closest
time margin of any Tour on record.
In following seasons, Greg’s performance
eroded. Later it was determined that Greg had
a rare cell disorder that could possibly be attrib-
uted to the lead in his body. Greg more or less
missed three Tours between his accident and
his comeback, and had his career cut short.
If Greg hadn’t had the hunting accident, who
knows how many Tours he could have won?
Greg LeMond bicycles- The next page in
Greg’s history
Obviously, Greg was quite a bike racer. He
had incredible talent, and an even more tre-
mendous will to win. He also had a third
advantage over his competitors; Greg used
his eye for technology to his advantage.
As an example, in the final time trial of the
‘89 Tour, Fignon flew his ponytail in a show
of French style. Meanwhile, Greg strapped on
a funny looking aero helmet and bolted on an
odd-shaped aero handlebar. Most of the sport
laughed at these so-called ‘gimmicks’. Their
laughter turned to awe as LeMond did the
impossible, removing Fignon’s ‘insurmount-
able’ 40 second lead.
Greg’s cycling position
Along with learning about training from
the best coaches and sports doctors in the
world, Greg also studied the relationships of
a rider’s bicycle position. It should be obvious
from his results that something was working
for him. To compliment what he learned
about maximizing a cyclist’s potential, he
designed his own LeMond frame geometries.
Greg learned a lot about bikes when he
was racing in Europe. He found that comfort
and stability allow a bike rider to be fast. To
execute a high speed turn in the Alps, a bike
needs to have solid and predictable steering.
Cornering speed is not determined by how
quick a bike turns, but by the rider’s ability
to control a line at speed.
To provide the rider with leverage to pow-
erfully push a big gear in the Alps, the seat
must be rearward, requiring the seat tube
to be laid back. Powerful climbing is not
determined by how stiff the bike, but by plac-
ing the rider so that they can economically
exert the most pedaling force.
And finally, to prevent fatigue on long
stages a bike must be comfortable. Comfort
is not determined by how soft the saddle
is, but by allowing the bike to absorb road
shock while distributing the rider’s weight
correctly.
LeMond’s experience helps every cyclist
You may be a recreational rider, or a
national caliber competitor on the Saturn
race team. You may race for a living, or ride
for simple pleasure. Either way, your riding
success has Greg’s inspiration behind it.